Permanent Injury After an Accident in Poland: How Is It Assessed and What Can You Claim?
An accident has left you with a permanent scar, hearing loss in one ear, or reduced mobility. This is what Polish law calls "trwały uszczerbek na zdrowiu" — a permanent, measurable impairment of a bodily function. How is it assessed, who assesses it, and how does it affect your compensation?
Disclaimer: This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual medical circumstances and the expert evidence in your case. The matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.
What Counts as a Permanent Impairment (a percentage rating of lost bodily function)
Trwały uszczerbek na zdrowiu (permanent impairment of health) is a lasting loss of physical or mental function that will not improve with further treatment.
Examples: - A facial scar (even one that a doctor might consider medically minor, but which is socially significant), - Hearing loss in one ear, - A stiff finger that can no longer fully bend, - Reduced joint mobility (for example, you can no longer fully raise your arm), - Anosmia (loss of smell), - A personality change caused by PTSD or depression following the accident.
How Is the Impairment Measured?
As a percentage — from 1% to 100%. The percentage shows how much function of a given organ or body part you have lost:
| Level of impairment | % | What it typically looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | 1–10% | Barely noticeable, does not affect work |
| Moderate | 11–30% | Noticeable, some limitations |
| Serious | 31–60% | Significant impact on daily life |
| Severe | 61–100% | Total or near-total loss of function |
⚠️ Important: The percentage is not the same as a specific amount of money. A 30% impairment does not automatically mean "30,000 PLN" — it only describes the degree of functional loss.
Who Assesses It: Insurer's Medical Expert vs Court-Appointed Expert
1. The Insurer's Medical Expert
The insurer may instruct its own medical expert (usually a specialist doctor) to assess your degree of impairment. This expert: - Carries out an examination, - Produces a report giving a percentage rating, - Whose opinion is not binding on a court if you disagree with it.
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Request a free initial assessment⚠️ Conflict of interest: The insurer's expert tends to give a lower percentage (meaning less compensation for you).
2. The Court-Appointed Expert (biegły sądowy)
If you decide to sue, the court will appoint its own expert from the official court roster. This expert: - Is (in theory) independent, - Carries out an examination, - Gives an opinion that is effectively binding — the court will usually follow it.
Key difference: A court-appointed expert often arrives at a higher percentage than the insurer's expert, because they are independent of the insurer.
3. Same Tables, Different Conclusions
⚠️ Worth knowing: Both types of expert rely on the same medical impairment tables (such as the NFZ, Poland's National Health Fund, disability scale), yet they can still reach very different conclusions.
Example: - A 3×4 cm scar on the forehead — insurer's expert: 3% impairment (barely visible), - The same scar — court-appointed expert: 8% impairment (noticeable to others).
Courts tend to weigh the social impact of the impairment, not only the strictly medical picture.
How the Percentage Affects the Amount of Compensation (zadośćuczynienie)
Remember: there is no official conversion table from percentages to złoty amounts.
That said, the percentage of impairment is a key factor in a court's assessment: - A higher impairment percentage → generally higher compensation, - A lower impairment percentage → generally lower compensation.
Illustrative Example Only:
| Impairment | Compensation (illustrative only) |
|---|---|
| 5% — minor scar | A few thousand PLN |
| 15% — loss of a finger | A few to a dozen or so thousand PLN |
| 30% — paralysis of a limb | Tens of thousands of PLN |
| 60%+ — severe disability | Tens to over a hundred thousand PLN |
⚠️ This is illustrative only. Actual amounts depend on the court, the claimant's age, and how the impairment affects their social and working life.
Independent Expert (rzeczoznawca) vs Court-Appointed Expert — the Differences
| Aspect | Independent expert (rzeczoznawca) | Court-appointed expert (biegły sądowy) |
|---|---|---|
| Who instructs them | The insurer or the claimant | The court |
| Independence | Engaged by, and aligned with, whoever instructed them | In theory, independent |
| Weight of opinion | Not binding on a court | Effectively binding — the court usually follows it |
| Who pays | Whoever instructed them | Paid through the court process |
| Timeframe | Fast (a few days) | Slow (weeks to months) |
The Assessment Procedure, Step by Step
Stage 1: Medical Examination
- Book an examination with the relevant specialist (orthopaedist, neurologist, dermatologist — depending on the type of injury),
- The doctor carries out the examination,
- The doctor issues a medical certificate describing the impairment.
Stage 2: Notifying the Insurer
Send a letter to the insurer including: - The medical certificate, - A request for a medical expert to be appointed, - A request for a percentage assessment of the impairment.
Stage 3: Examination by the Insurer's Expert (optional)
The insurer appoints its own expert. That expert: 1. Carries out an examination, 2. Writes a report giving a percentage, 3. Sends the result to the insurer.
Stage 4: If You Disagree — Court Proceedings
- A claim (pozew) is filed,
- The court appoints a court expert,
- Examination by the court expert (the most important stage),
- Hearings and discussion of the expert opinion,
- Judgment, setting out the percentage impairment and the compensation awarded.
Challenging the Insurer's Assessment
If the insurer finds 5% impairment but you believe it should be at least 15%, you can:
- Instruct a second, independent expert — at your own cost,
- Send written objections to the insurer with an alternative opinion attached,
- Sue in court — the strongest route (the court appoints an independent expert).
⚠️ Court proceedings involve a fee (roughly 200–500 PLN as a starting filing fee), but if the gap in the percentages is large, it is usually worth pursuing.
Impairment and a Pension (renta) — How They Combine
If the accident caused both a permanent impairment (say 25%) and a loss of earning capacity (say 50%), a Polish court can award both compensation for the impairment and an ongoing pension (renta).
Example: - Compensation for a 25% impairment: roughly 15,000 PLN, - Renta for a 50% loss of earning capacity: roughly 3,000 PLN/month for 20 years, - TOTAL: 15,000 PLN + 3,000 PLN × 240 months = 735,000 PLN.
This is not double counting — these are separate heads of loss compensating different things.
FAQ
Is every scar automatically a "permanent impairment"? Not always. If the scar is very small and barely visible (for example, 2mm, behind the ear), a court may disregard it. But if it is large and in a visible location (face, hands), it almost certainly will count. The expert assesses both size and location.
Can I have a permanent impairment with no visible signs? Yes. Internal damage — hearing loss, loss of smell, memory problems following PTSD — can all count as an impairment even without any physical marks. But you must document it with medical certificates.
What if treatment improves the impairment within a year? That is possible, but rare. If, for example, a scar fades thanks to laser therapy, the percentage impairment may change. However, a Polish court assesses the impairment as it stands on the day of judgment, not on the day of the accident.
Does the percentage impairment decide the whole compensation amount? No — it is only one factor. A court will also consider: - The claimant's age, - The impact on work (losing a finger affects a miner differently than a programmer), - The need for ongoing care or rehabilitation, - The fault of the party responsible for the accident.
What if the insurer and the court give different percentages? If the gap is small (say, insurer: 10%, court: 12%), the court's figure prevails, since its opinion is binding. If the gap is very large (insurer: 5%, court: 25%), that can itself be grounds for an appeal.
Can I claim a pension (renta) simply because of the impairment? Not directly. A renta is tied to loss of earning capacity (Article 444 §2 of the Polish Civil Code — Kodeks cywilny), not to the impairment itself. But if the impairment causes you to lose your job or earning capacity, you can claim a renta on that basis.
Links and Resources
- NFZ (Poland's National Health Fund): https://www.nfz.gov.pl — disability tables (for reference; content in Polish),
- Polish Common Courts (Sądy Powszechne): https://www.ms.gov.pl — rosters of court experts, procedures (in Polish),
- Rzecznik Finansowy (the Polish Financial Ombudsman): https://rf.gov.pl — procedures for dealing with insurers (in Polish),
- Polish Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny): https://isap.sejm.gov.pl — Articles 444 and 445 (in Polish).
Summary
A permanent injury (trwały uszczerbek na zdrowiu) is a measurable, lasting reduction in physical or mental function. Assessing the degree of impairment, expressed as a percentage, is central to working out the level of compensation.
Key points: 1. A percentage is not a złoty figure — a 30% impairment does not translate into a fixed sum, 2. The insurer's expert and the court expert are not the same thing — their assessments can differ significantly, 3. Court proceedings (with a court-appointed expert) are generally far more reliable than the insurer's own assessment, 4. Impairment and a pension (renta) are separate heads of compensation and can be awarded together.
If the insurer has assessed your impairment at 5%, but you believe it should be at least 20%, it is often worth pursuing a court claim — the difference in compensation can be substantial.
Final disclaimer: This material is for educational purposes. If your case involves significant permanent injury, you should strongly consider consulting a Polish lawyer — the expert's assessment can genuinely be disputed, and the court route can make a real difference to the outcome.
Last reviewed: 27 June 2026.